Let me start out by saying that Eternal Essence absolutely rocks. This is so good, I have to grab my pair of Sennhiser headphones for another listen while I write. My initial impression of this band was that it was heavily influenced by Dream Theater. You can just feel it in the mix–especially if you focus on EJ’s machine like tight drum work, which is just all around superb. The use of piano and synth throughout, which provides a backdrop to work with, helped to give each piece a lot of genuine atmosphere and character. Even the bassist brings something to the table, interjecting subtle details of noted intricacy that add a nice touch when needed. The guitar work, which is oddly well tempered for a band of this genre of music, keeps with the spirit of the overall thematic approach that this band has crafted so well from one song to the next. And if I had to hazard to go out on a limb, I would risk saying that this band is going to continue to put out more awesome sounding tracks. In fact, I look forward to it. But, don’t take my word for it. I urge you to have a listen for yourself. And be sure to drop me a message to let me know what you think about Eternal Essence.

To check out Eternal Essence, please visit:
http://www.myspace.com/eternalessence

This week I stumbled across a group named Thyateira, a curious band from Crystal Lake, Illinois. I’m going to be honest with you right up front. I have rather mixed feelings about this band (whose name I assume comes from the fourth church of the book of Revelation chapter 2). I think this band has a lot of artistic potential that it should bring to the surface. I was on their myspace page listening to their tracks, and in the first song that came up, there was a brief passage where they kicked the growlers out of the room and actually tried to sing normally. For that brief moment, I started to feel as if this band had some sense of a purpose and maybe even something meaningful to say with their music. But, that connection was short lived, because the growling and shouting returned throughout the rest of my listening experience. Now, I will admit, when I was much younger, this sort of disconnect would not have struck me as being so odd. That is to say, given my rather detached anti-social outlook on life at that time. And let’s face it, the message that a band intends to send with their music is not always conveyed through the words themselves, even if you can actually make out what the singer is saying. But, here is what strikes me so funny about this band. And it is worthy of noting, for its musical value, if for nothing else. As I tuned out the shouting and growling to get beyond the surface of the music, it surprised me that there was this layer of nicely orchestrated lead guitar playing, over a tonally crafted driven rhythm. At times the feel of the lead was somewhat neoclassical in form. Which I truly think was a brilliant touch. There were also a few nicely used studio sound tricks in the mix from time to time that grabs the hearer and let’s go in a way that makes you pause, if you take the time to notice them. But, this dramatic difference between what you get on the surface and what you find when you explore what is going on beneath was something of a paradox to me as a listener. I mean, was that intentionally planned to turn out that way, or did it just turn out that way? Where I think it is difficult to create music in this genre is that as a band you have to decide what is more important. Is it the sheer force of raw power that you are trying to convey to your audience, or is your goal to be artistically inclined musicians first? I don’t think there is any right or wrong answer to that question, but I do find that the bands who back off the raw power and approach the creative process from a more musically appealing perspective, learn to get a far better balance in their final product than those bands which don’t. But, then again, I am speaking from personal preference. So, be sure to check out Thyateira this week and drop me an email to let me know what you think.

To check out Thyateira, please visit:
http://www.myspace.com/thyateira

  We all dream of it: a two car garage, a job we absolutely hate, and even looking forward to coming home at night to flop down in front of the boob tube to waste what remains of those few precious moments we refer to as life.  If we are lucky, we’ve even got a nagging mother-in-law and a couple of obnoxious screaming brats to keep us further entertained.  And if we are really lucky, we might have a decent amp, a nice guitar, and a few effects pedals to enjoy behind closed doors.  You know, that special place you go to crank it to 11 so that you can’t even hear the ringing in your own ears anymore?  But, if you are Michael Angelo Batio, your home studio and rig is likely a little more over the top than the average player’s.

MICHAEL ANGELO BATIO’S HOME STUDIO

  Let’s face it, you don’t get to be one of the world’s most famous shredders by being normal.  No, you throw out the whole 9 to 5 desk and/or cement mixing job and put most of your time and effort into trying to figure out what properly harmonizes with some crazy mode of the major something scale in 5/4 time, while kicking your bass player around to help keep focus during band practice.  Okay, I don’t actually advocate picking on your bass player, but bassists know it’s part of the job if they have been around the industry long enough.

  Now, being a world class shredder gives Michael Angelo the right to use a little creative license when–uhm’ well, Interpreting!  Yeah, that’s it, Interpreting the work of a late legendary guitarist like Randy Rhodes.

MICHAEL ANGELO BATIO’S INTERPRETATION OF RANDY RHODES WORK

  That was perhaps a little over the top in spots, but amazing nevertheless.  So, while you are stuck at work trying to figure out how to stick it to the man, just remember that Michael Angelo is somewhere out there rocking hard.
 
  Would you like to be a world class shredder, but just don’t have the desire to practice day in and day out?  Now you can pawn your old guitar for good this time, because the iAirGuitar is finally here.  Get your hands on a copy for your iPhone and iPod Touch today.  Visit:

  www.iairguitar.com

  Normally, I’m used to bands like Operatika having a male singer fronting the group.  Forget that!  Definitely better sounding with a woman fronting the band.  Seriously, you’re going to want to give the volume knob on your stereo a turn to that Spinal Tap #11 for Slava Popova’s memorable vocals.  I should also note that Bill Visser’s stellar performance on guitar is, shall we say, fast, furious, melodic, and flawless.  I’d hate to be doing his daily metronome work out.  I bet he plays guitar in his sleep just to keep his fingers in the zone like that.   So, for those of you who are into that over the top metal symphony sound, Operatika is definitely the band you should be checking out.

To check out Operatika for yourself, please visit:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=11579189

    Does your band have a profile on Roadie Rage?  If not, don’t leave your fans waiting another moment.  To create your Roadie Rage artist profile, visit:

  www.roadierage.com

After listening to this band, you might want to talk your pastor into booking them to play at your next church function. Okay, that might be a little too much for the old blue haired folks who sleep in the back rows. The reality is that Theocracy truly rocks. The rhythms are powerful and tight, the singing is melodic and orchestral, and you can’t help but move to the music. Before I forget, it is about time that someone put Frosty and Rudolph in their place. You will just have to listen to their Christmas song to know what i mean. Although, I would have liked to have heard them put Santa in his place too. They sound like Dream Theater meets Savatage with richer vocals. So, I definitely recommend checking these guys out, if you are into fast heavy metal with great singing.

To check out Theocracy, please visit:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=150053352

Get your band featured on Roadie Rage and help your local fans keep in touch with your events. Visit Roadie Rage, create an artist profile, and add your latest events to our area specific bulletin board. To get started, visit:

www.roadierage.com

       By Corey Bray

       Choosing the right distortion pedal for your rig can make the difference between a mediocre and an absolutely fabulous playing experience.  But, with hundreds of distortion pedals out on the market, where do you begin?  If you are into older rock, a classic distortion pedal to check out is the Electro Harmonix Big Muff pedal.

THE ELECTRO-HARMONIX BIG MUFF

       Though I love EH pedals, I was not as impressed with the Big Muff as I had imagined I would be.  But, if you just want a basic pedal to get you started in working on defining your distorted sound, the Big Muff is not a bad pedal to start out with.

If you just need a decent distortion pedal that gives you a lot of flexibility, the Boss MT2 Metal Zone might be right up your alley.

THE BOSS MT2 METAL ZONE

       You really can dial in a lot of different distortion sounds with this pedal.  I sometimes use an MT2 through a Lexicon PCM-81 effects rack to get an almost violin sound.  Which is kind of ironic, because the cost of the MT2 is around $90 and the cost of a Lexicon PCM-81 is close to $2000 new.  So, sometimes the best sounds come from mixing cheap and expensive gear together.  You never know what is going to give you precisely what you need.

       Now, if you are really into the sound of players like Joe Satriani, you can begin to approach his signature sound with the new Vox Saturator pedal.

THE VOX SATURATOR

       Though I think the Saturator pedal is likely going to find its way into my pedal chain in the near future, the Ibanez Jemini distortion pedal seems to give more of the control I’m personally looking for in my own playing.

       
THE IBANEZ JAMINI

       Of course, you should really go out and check out a lot of different distortion pedals before deciding which one belongs in your rig.  When trying out distortion pedals in the music store, I recommend running a distortion pedal through an Equalizer Pedal as well as a decent sounding reverb pedal.  Often, pedal demos online tend to present a pedals raw sound, but in reality, that sort of demo is really pretty useless. Knowing how a pedal is going to work along with other effects is typically a far better way to gage its performance and whether or not it is right for your rig.  So, don’t be shy and make those sales reps down at the music store really work their butts off to prove to you that they have helped you to find the right distortion pedal for the job.

       Neoclassical rock guitar virtuoso, Corey Bray, is a featured artist on the Roadie Rage network.  www.roadierage.com

YNGWIE MALMSTEEN
Five Part Guitar Lesson

Part 1:

Part 2:

PART 3:

PART 4:

PART 5:

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